Cycling is kind of like James Bond in that it has a habit of defusing bombs with exactly 0:07 left on the timer – not at the last second, but perilously close. It’s also like James Bond in that its recurring long-term problems never get properly addressed. Take doping, for example; the fact that Operation…
Month: March 2007
Forest Park Criterium – March 4th
March = bike racing. Time was, I’d still be skiing this time of year, but time also was Alaska had glaciers, and Kilimanjaro had snow. So a 6:25 wake-up and a 6:45 departure time (I’m out of practice – a theme for the day) later, I’m on the road to Springfield. Unfortunately, I left the…
KBK Coverage and a Jab at Velonews
You know what I haven’t done since I got back? Ripped on Velonews. Allow me to end that hiatus. Sunday’s Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne, first billed on Cyclingnews, didn’t even rate it’s own article at “The Journal of Competitive Cycling”. Strangely enough, this puts my friends in Boulder ahead of ProCycling, which hasn’t even posted an article yet,…
2007 Omloop Het Volk
There’s just no way to replicate the bike racing of Belgium. Roads that wouldn’t pass for sidewalks on this side of the Atlantic, riders hopping medians, cutting onto bike paths; it’s just good stuff. Add to that a thrilling finish with lots of gutsy, late moves and you’ve got the best bike racing anywhere (IMHO).
Het Volk Previews; I'm Wrong Twice Already
There’s nothing like the giddy thrill of a season-opening race in which there is no clear favorite (except for that one guy who is always a clear favorite for every race until June or so…) to take the mind off darker news. Here are previews from Cyclingnews and Pez; if the map looks familiar to…
Unibet Rips Me Off, ASO's Finger on the Button
Why do I suddenly feel like a Band-Aid? Because I just got ripped off. Mere hours after coining the phrase myself, much–maligned ProTour neophytes Unibet.com issued a statement entitled “Do not wreck the European bike” that said, in part (my boldface): “We feel strongly victimized by the cartel ASO, RCS Sport and Unipublic…The cartel wants…